Skater Christ rounding into form for allround championships

Kali Christ of Canada looks on after she competes in the Ladies 1000m race during day 2 of the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships held at Thialf Ice Arena on February 13, 2015 in Heerenveen, Netherlands.Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images

Skaters salivate when they think about competing on the fast Olympic Oval surface, personal bests dancing merrily in their heads.

Kali Christ doesn’t totally share those sentiments.

“Honestly, I think when it comes to fast ice, I’m at a little bit of a disadvantage,” the 23-year-old admitted. “The way that my technique has progressed throughout the years from training outdoors in Regina growing up, I skate really well on slower ice. I’m one of the power skaters rather than more technique. I don’t use the glide on the Calgary ice as well as others do.

“So if you have the technique to hold the glide, then Calgary is a huge advantage. But for me, I love skating here anyway but it’s not quite as much of an advantage. I power through everything instead of relaxing.”

Christ, a middle distance specialist, is one of four members of the Canadian contingent that is taking part in the 2015 world allround speed skating championships this weekend at the Olympic Oval. Saturday’s schedule begins at noon with the ladies 500m and Sunday the action gets underway at 11 a.m. and culminates with the men’s 10,000m at 1:50.

This will be Christ’s third go at the world allround. In 2014 in Heerenveen, she finished 10th. But it’s the road rather than the destination that concerns both her and her coach Todd McClements.

“I think right now it’s just making sure I execute my race plans the way I want them to and just making sure I do everything in my power to perform the way I want to,” she said. “As long as I do that, I’ll perform my best. I’d love to be up in the top eight, but as long as I do my best, I’ll be happy. Not really looking for specific placing at this point.”

Her coach concurs.

“Both Kali and I are really focused on the process of how to reach that and then find out how great that can be,” said McClements, her coach of four years. “We’re trying to refine the process, the approach to training, finding where the gaps are and trying to address those. Kali is so professional and so disciplined that it’s really that I focus on more, rather than the end result. We’d like an Olympic medal, but it’s more of the process of how to get that because that’ll dictate whether that happens.”

Christ, who made her Olympic debut in 2014 in Sochi, doesn’t train with the other national team members, but that hasn’t hindered her progression one bit.

“I have a group of Oval program skaters and the support there and the drive within my group has been absolutely incredible this year,” she said. “The guys are pushing me to be better, calling me out on stupid stuff that I’ll say and do … it’s been such a great atmosphere this year that I wouldn’t want to change that.

“I got off to a rough start this fall, dealing with personal stuff. I still placed better that I ever had at that time of the year but I knew it wasn’t as good as I could do. But I got back to Calgary and I set the focus on the rest of the World Cups and started instantly improving.

“Once world singles came, that had to be the best competition I’ve ever done. Other than the Olympics, I’ve never done more than one distance at a single distance championship before. To place with two top eight finishes was pretty incredible for me.”

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